Archive for the ‘Church’ Category

One of Montreal’s leading architectural lighting designer creates a new landmark for the city’s Quartier des Spectacles Church of St. John the Evangelist is an important part of life in Montreal for a tripartite of reasons and Lightemotion has exemplified this with a stunning design for the external illumination of the building that changes with the different uses of the church. Francois Roupinian, founder of Lightemotion, explains: “The church is used as a place of religious worship, a mission and also a venue for concerts and so we felt we should reflect and respect the three different roles within the lighting design. It also sits at the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles and so we wanted to bring attention to this historic building, located amidst the city’s wealth of cultural offerings.”

In this design, church and cloister become one compact entity. The flowing line from the somewhat closed facade together with the prominent bell tower draws the visitor to the entrance of the church. The Mariakapel is gracefully incorporated into the curve of the facade. Once inside, the colossal building turns out to be a light, modern and multifunctional Roman Catholic centre. The church offers seating to 150 people and a sliding wall creates space for 100 more by opening up the conference room which lies behind.

Danish architects CEBRA’s proposal for a new church in Våler, Norway creates a symbolic landmark in the shape of a tilting cross using light and wood as key design elements for the interior.

The village of Våler, in the south eastern part of Norway, is in need of a new church in order to replace the village’s old wooden church, which burned down to the ground in 2009. The church is of great importance for the local community – both as a social gathering point and as characterizing landscape element. Therefore, the design of the new church has to combine a particular sensitivity and attention to the site’s culture-historical context with a modern architectural expression so as to succeed in creating flexible and contemporary church facilities.

Only a few signs remain of the original Franciscan convent established in the 13th century, which reveal its original configuration, considered the oldest religious building in Portalegre. Throughout the centuries, several building works have reconfigured the space of the church, both in shape and size. After the dissolution of the religious orders in 1834, the original body of the Convent was subject to successive adaptations and additions, resulting from the repurposing of the building, particularly related to the industrial processing of cork. The church, after 1910, lost its ecclesiastical function and was used in several different ways from that period onwards, suffering some reconstruction and recuperation during the 70’s and 80’s, which were not carried out in a manner that added value to or repurposed the building.

The church in the small town of Våler in Norway burned down and a competition was held to build a new one. We joined the competition with the following entry. It is in the rural church that the people in a village is experiencing its most emotional moments; this is where the kids run out on the last day of school, it is here you get married and it is here you bid farewell to your loved ones.

The beautiful Vaalerchurch from 1805 burnt down in the spring of 2009. We have designed a new church as a symbolic landmark to succeed the old building. The new Vaaler church is placed further east from the placement of the old church, marking the historic axis with its tower. The new building is designed as a simple box where one corner is lifted up in order to point out the church room and the tower.

The Church of Knarvik holds an important position as a cultural provider and a communicator for the Christian message and community, on holidays and during every day. The church will be central for a safe childhood environment and at the same time be a platform for cultural development, arts and music in the community.

The Chapel-Bell Tower was built on the territory of the Asylum of the aged people and is operating under authority of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The structure’s composition is multiaxial and is provided for numerous viewpoints. The Chapel dominates the surrounding large green area due to its slenderness and light color. Its volume is formed by the two main intertwining sub-volumes. These are a pyramidal solid and a tetrahedral dome which connect to each other by two rectangular pylons. The two volumes symbolize the earthly and celestial worlds.

The site of the Gyesan Church, located in close proximity to an expressway interchange, is positioned at the center of the local transportation network. As the site extends along the expressway in a curved line, the positioning of the building was planned in accordance with the configuration of the site. In order to show the symbolism of a church, a tower was erected alongside the church, facing the expressway, and acting as a local landmark. In consideration for future expansion, the levels above ground were developed in a limited manner, while the educational and service facilities and a parking space were situated on the two basement levels. Above ground, a parking lot and an outdoor square are located, providing a place where buildings will be constructed in the future expansion. It is planned that during expansion, educational facilities will be relocated and the space will be changed into a parking space.

In the Netherlands there are hundreds of empty churches. Since 1970 more than 1000 churches are closed by church communities. More than 1/3 was demolished and half of the Catholic churches were thrown down. The coming years another 1000 churches will lose their original function. Fewer people go to church and the costs for conservation are no longer affordable. Fortunately, demolition is less common nowadays, partly because churches are often on the monuments list. Re-use is the only way to prevent long-lasting vacancy or demolition. The purpose of the Re-use of the St-Jakobuskerk was to revalue the dignified monument with little interventions as possible.